Band-cutter for threshing-machines.



No. 774.155. PATENTED NOV. 8, 1904..

' 0. A. BUTTBRPIELD.

BAND CUTTER FOR THRESHING MACHINES.

APPLIGATION FILED JAN. 22, 1904.

NO MODEL.

NiTED STATES Patented November 8, 1904.,

PATENT Orricn.

NICHOLS AND SHEPARD COMPANY, OF BATTLEOREEK, MICHIGAN.

BAND-CUTTER FOR THRESHING-IVIACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 774,155, dated November8, 1904.

Application filed January 22, 1904. Serial No. 190,119. No model.)

To all whmn it may concern.-

Be it known that I, OSCAR A. BUTTERFIELD, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Battlecreek, in the county of Calhoun and State ofMichigan, have invented a certain new and useful Band-Cutter forThreshing-h/lachines, of which the following is a specification,reference beinghad therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to band-cutters and feeders forthreshing-machines, and particularly to the band-cutter proper, whichoperates to sever the bands of the bundles as they are carried by thefeeding mechanism toward the threshing-cylinder.

The object of the present invention is to provide a cutter embodyingseparable parts .so combined and arranged that the cutters may beremoved laterally from the cuttershaft for the purpose of sharpening andreplacing the same or substituting new cutters for broken ones, thusobviating the necessity of unmounting the shaft and the contiguousparts, and thereby effecting a great saving in time, labor, and trouble.In the common construction of the knives as they are made and usedto-day such knives are made'in one piece with a hole or eye which fitsupon the squared cutter-shaft, and the said knives are assembled bybeing placed one by one upon the shaft over the end thereof and held inplace and separated from each other by means of interposed Washers orclamping-disks. Now in the daily use of these knives it is necessary tosharpen the same, and in order to get at them it is necessary to takeout the cutter-shaft and at least one box and remove one of the balanceor fly wheels, unscrew the collar which holds the parts together, andthen remove the knives and washers or clamping-disks one at a time untilaccess is had to the desired knife. The present invention aims toovercome this fatal defect and objection by constructing each of thecutters or knives in two interlocking parts or members, so that eachknife may be associated laterally with and disassociated laterally fromthe cutter-shaft by simplyloosening the screw collar or nut which clampsallof the knives and clamping-disks together upon the shaft.

Another object of the invention is to so construct and arrange the partsof the cutter that the knife portion of each cutter may be detachedwithout disconnecting the complemental member of such knife from thecuttershaft. By the means hereinafter described it is also practical toplace either a double or a single cutter at any desired point on thecuttershaft and readily remove the same at any time without disturbingany other parts of thercutter as a whole.

With the above and other objects in view, the nature of which will morefully appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in thenovel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts, ashereinafter fully described, illustrated, and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinalsection through the feeder of a threshing-machine, showing thefeeder-apron or belt and the band-cutter arranged thereover. Fig. 2 is asection taken longitudinally through the cutter in line with thecutter-shaft, the latter being shown in elevation. Fig. 3 is a plan viewof a single cutter embodying the present invention. Fig. 4: is a similarview of a double cutter embodying the same principle; and Fig. 5 is adetail section showing a pair of clampingdisks with an interposed knifeand the dowelpins or retainers, which hold the knives in place.

Like reference-numerals designate corresponding parts in all the figuresof the drawings.

1n band-cutters and feeders at present in use resort is usually had to atraveling feeder apron or belt 1, which is mounted at its opposite endsupon suitable rollers 2, supported in a feeder-frame 3, the said apronbeing arranged to carry the bundles inward to the threshing mechanism,while above the feederapron is arranged a rotary cutter mounted upon acutter-shafta and comprising a series of blades or knives 5, arranged ina circular or spiral series around the same. Ordinarily the blades orknives are simply provided with holes to receive the shaft 4: and arethreaded one by one upon the shaft in connection withalternately-arranged clamping-disks which serve to space the knives at asuitable distance apart, as shown in Fig. 2, the holes or eyes of theblades being ordinarily square, so as to fit the squared portion of thecuttershaft and enable the knives to derive their power therefrom.

In carrying out the present invention each blade or knife is composed oftwo interlocking members 5 and 6, 5 designating that member whichcarries the knife or blade 7 proper, while the member 6 corresponds inits formation with the hub portion of the knife-bearing member. Themembers 5 and 6 are divided on a line substantially diametrical to thecutter-shaft, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4c, and are made male andfemale,-or, in other words, provided along their meeting edges withinterlocking projections and recesses and, by preference, the saidprojections and recesses are arranged to extend in reverse directions atopposite sides of the cutter-shaft, as clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 4,for a purpose which will hereinafter appear. Each projection may be saidto be of dovetailed shape or provided with oppositely-projectingshoulders 8, which titinto the corresponding notches or extensions ofthe main recesses, which receive the projections as a whole, so thatabutting and interlocking shoulders are provided in connection with eachprojection or recess, which serves to prevent the two members 5 and 6from being drawn apart while they are in alinement with each other orwhile they lie in the same plane. By moving the said members laterallywith respect to each other, however, the members 5 and 6 may bedisconnected from each other, which will allow one or both of saidmembers to be removed from the cutter-shaft without disturbing any otherknives or clamping-disks. Each knife or blade is also provided with asquared or octagonal hole or eye 9 to receive the squared shaft 1 of thecutter as a whole, so that each knife is made fast on the shaft andcaused to rotate therewith and derive its power therefrom. The knivesthus formed are placed laterally upon the shaft, and each knife isinterposed between a pair of clamping-disks or spacing-sleeves 10, whichhave previously been threaded upon one end of the shaft. Adjacent to oneend the shaft is provided with a fixed abutment-collar 11, while at theopposite end the shaft is threaded to receive a clamping nut or collar12, by means of which all of the knives and clamping-disks are firmlypressed together and are held while the cutter is in operation.

Instead of forming the knife as shown in Fig. 3 it may be made in thedouble form shown in Fig. 4. In other words, instead of combining amember 6 with a member 5 two members 5 may be combined with each otherto provide a greater number of cutting edges, which arrangement issometimes found desirable.

In order to prevent the members 6 from falling away from thecutter-shaft upon the removal of a member 5, it is desirable to provideeach of the members 5 and 6 with a hole 13, and also provide eachclamping-disk 10 with a laterally-projecting retainer or dowel-pin 14 atone side which passes through the opening 13 in the cutter member andpreferably enters a corresponding recess or socket 15 in an adjacentclamping-disk, as best illustrated in Fig. 5. Now in removing one of theknifebearing members 5 it is only necessary to loosen the clampingcollar or nut 12 and back the same off a distance a little greater thanthe thickness of the cutter-blade. Thereupon the blade-carrying membermay be removed laterally from the shaft, while the complemental member6is left upon the dowel-pin or retainer 15 until the knife-bearing memheris replaced in its original position and the parts tightened up andclamped together. Under the ordinary arrangement of the r0- tary cutterthe same is supported at or near its opposite ends in suitable bearings16, and also provided with suitable balance or fly wheels 17 and adriving-pulley 18, as shown in Fig. 2.

From the foregoing description it will be understood that each knife iscomposed of two interlocking pieces or members, each of which partiallysurrounds the shaft and obtains its driving power therefrom, the eye ofthe cutter-knife being made to conform to the cross-sectional shape ofthe shaft for that purpose. It will be further seen that any knife ornumber of knives may be removed from the shaft laterally by simplyloosening the clamping collar or nut at one end, this being done withoutdisturbing any of the other knives or clamping-disksand withoutunmounting the cutter-shaft from the machine. Further, thenon-knife-bearing members are retained in position during the operationof removing and replacing the knifebearing members. It will also be seenthat double knives may be substituted for single knives whenever foundnecessary.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is- 1. Thecombination with the shaft of a retary band-cutter, of a cutting-bladeconsisting of two members located on opposite sides of the shaft andhaving an interlocked connection directly with each other and means oneach member whereby the members are adapted to be disconnected from eachother and. the shaft byrelative lateral movement only.

2. The combination with the shaft of a re tary band-cutter, of acutting-blade consisting of two members of uniform thickness lo cated onopposite sides of the shaft and having integral means effective tointerlock when the members are in line with each other and inefiectivewhen the members are moved out of linewith each other.

3. A knife for band-cutters consisting of two members dividedsubstantially in line with their axis of movement and havinginterlocking means at their meeting edges and also provided with an eyeformed partly in each meeting edge, said eye being angular in shape.

4. A rotarycutter comprising a shaft, a series of clamping-disksthereon, and a series of knives interposed between the clampingclisksand each consisting of interlocking members adapted to be movedlaterally into and out of engagement with each other, and means forclamping the knives and disks and preventing such lateral movement.

5. A rotary cutter embodying a shaft, a sectional knife mounted on theshaft and consisting of interlocking members which lie in a common planeand on opposite sides of said shaft, and one of which is provided with ahole, and clamping-disks at opposite sides of the knife, one of thedisks being provided with a pin or retainer which enters the hole in theknife member.

6. A rotary cutter comprising a shaft, a series of clamping disksprovided with oppositely-located dowel-pins, and sockets for the same,and a series of knives held between the disks and each consisting ofinterlocking members which lie in a common plane and are laterallyremovable from the shaft, one of said members being provided with anopening to receive one of the said dowel-pins or retainers.

7. A rotary cutter comprising a shaft, a series of clamping-disksthereon provided with laterally-projecting dowel-pins or retainers andsockets therefor, and a series of knives each consisting of two memberslying in a common plane and having an interlocked engagement with eachother, one of said members being provided with an opening to receive oneof the said dowel-pins or retainers.

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

OSCAR A. BUTTERFIELD.

Witnesses:

CHESTER P. ALDRIcH, FRANK 0. SMITH.

